Application of crop stalk to production of Pleurotus eryngii.

An experiment was carried out on effects of the use of peanut stalk,corn stalk and/or sweet potato vine as culture medium mixed with cotton seed shell and bran on growth and yield of Pleurotus eryngii compared with the medium composed of cotton seed hulls(80%) and bran(20%) as control,It was found that the effects of the six new formulae were significant on mycelial growth rate and vigor,production cycle,yield,and biological efficiency of P.eryngii.The corn stalk meal and cotton seed hull based medium was the most favorable to growth of the mushroom,which was high in mycelial growth rate and growth vigor,short in production cycle,perfect in fruit body morphology,and high in yield with biological efficiency exceeding 60%.When palatability of the used medium as feed to livestock is taken into account,the formula of 30% of cotton seed hull,50% of corn stalk and 20% of bran is the best one.